Interesting news for anybody thinking about a lady in Cuba.
U.S. Cracks Down on Travel to Cuba
By KEN GUGGENHEIM
Associated Press Writer
President Bush
AP/Karl Gehring [16K]
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Even as Congress considers easing the ban on travel to Cuba, the Treasury Department is cracking down on Americans who may have traveled illegally to the communist island.
The department has increased sharply the number of letters it sends seeking fines from Americans thought to have violated the travel ban. A suspected violator must pay the fine, prove their innocence or request a hearing before an administrative judge.
The maximum penalty is $55,000, but lawyers say the average is about $7,500.
From May 4 to July 30, Treasury sent out 443 letters, compared with 74 letters from Jan. 3 to May 3. That's an average of about 19 a month before May and 150 a month afterward.
President Bush said July 13 he was tightening enforcement of the 39-year-old embargo, intended to pressure democratic changes on President Fidel Castro's island.
